I live about 2 hours and 20 minutes of very good and not excessively highly trafficked freeway away from Amsoil Arena. I don't attend every Gopher game in Duluth but it is an easy drive and we have been there lots of times.
It isn't the DECC, a building with an oddly shaped rink and limited seating capacity. By the way, that building still stands and I think the local high schools play there. The complex includes that arena, a practice rink that most OSU fans would find familiar as it looks a lot like your "arena", a curling club with I can't remember for sure either 6 or 8 sheets, and Amsoil.
The others are antiques or irrelevancies, AMSOIL is a modern hockey facility with seating capacity well over what is going to be necessary for the Women's Frozen Four.
All interesting; appreciate the scouting report.
So get reserved seats if that is what you require to be comfortable but be assured that there will be plenty of seats available which allow excellent hockey viewing.
Change "require" to "prefer," and you've got me pretty well pegged. But I do take a pragmatic approach to this. When travel is involved, I'm more risk averse. When a doubleheader is involved, having a chair rather than a bench is of heightened value. Local event, at a venue I'm very familiar with? I'm more likely to take measures to avoid the fees.
Sammy Haggar notwithstanding, there actually is more than
One Way to Rock.
I particularly recommend the high in the corner along the line of the boards seats. That's where I generally sit, that is where I prefer to sit, excellent view, general admission.
You may be behind the curtain, but you're a man of good taste. Over the years I've referred to those as the "Scout's View" seats. That location is best for seeing the whole ice surface. If you're in the building to scout one specific player, and you're going to be watching that player all game long, it's a great choice. And yes, I've spoken to NHL Scouts who do this.
Sometimes I sit down in the reserved seats even though I do not have the ticket for the seats I sit in. It is a large arena, lots of the people with those tickets are sitting somewhere else. I do not recall ever being challenged by someone who held the ticket for the seat I was sitting in.
I've certainly done this, when attending with buddies or attending alone. With wife or daughter, not so much. I'll also admit that as I've gotten older, I have less energy for this strategy. But yes, of course. Be just a little observant, and you can sit in better seats with virtually no risk of a problem.
I am with Eeyore, don't pay anything to Ticketmaster. If and when your (and my) team gets to the Frozen Four you will have no problem at all finding a seat to watch the game.
Eeyore is a purist, which I respect. But again, I'm a pragmatist. I figure out what's the best deal for me, and proceed accordingly.
Loose Analogy: I used to be very determined not to overpay for gasoline. Then came the time I drove all over town in order to find the right price. It was a siege, but I eventually saved 15 cents per gallon. I was feeling pretty good about myself until I realized I had burned a gallon of gas in the quest. Net result? A washout. No savings at all. I became much less fanatical about gas prices.
Don't get me wrong; I still try not to overpay. I do use the Gas Buddy website from time to time. But if the savings is going to be, say, a dollar or less? I stop at the closest station and let them keep their "windfall profit."